Method and device for processing a multimedia stream to verify access rights

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for processing multimedia streams, in particular to verify access rights to a content of said multimedia stream, the multimedia stream being provided by a server device connected to a communication network, and downloadable by a client device via data formatted in a markup language, by using software for browsing and displaying data formatted in a markup language, cooperating with software for reading multimedia streams, the multimedia stream comprising at least one video stream able to be displayed in the form of pixels in a display zone ( 42, 44, 46, 48 ) of a display screen of the client device. The method includes determining a display zone ( 42 ), allocated by said browsing and display software to the software for reading multimedia streams in order to display a video stream extracted from said multimedia stream, and recording at least one digital image formed by values of the pixels to be displayed in the display zone ( 42 ) determined at a given time.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for processing multimedia streams,
 in particular for verifying access rights to content of a multimedia stream, the multimedia stream being provided by a server device connected to a communication network, and downloadable by a client device via data formatted in a markup language, by using software for browsing and displaying data formatted in a markup language, cooperating with software for reading multimedia streams, the multimedia stream comprising at least two video streams comprising a main video stream and at least one additional video stream, each video stream having an associated display zone of a display screen of the client device, the method comprising:
 determining, for each video stream extracted from the multimedia stream, the associated display zone, allocated by said browsing and display software to the software for reading multimedia streams; 
 identifying a main display zone, among the determined display zones, as being the display zone associated with the main video stream, comprising:
 computing a score associated with each determined display zone; and 
 selecting, as the main display zone, the display zone whose associated score is the highest score or the lowest score; and 
 
 recording at least one digital image formed by values of pixels to be displayed in the display zone determined at a given time. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said determining implements an analysis of commands exchanged between the browsing and display software and the software for reading multimedia streams, based on a programming interface provided by the browsing and display software. 
     
     
       3. The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising intercepting a command to create or initialize an executable instance of the software for reading multimedia streams. 
     
     
       4. The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising determining a display mode from among a first mode and a second mode by analyzing a command to allocate a display zone sent by the browsing and display software and the software for reading multimedia streams. 
     
     
       5. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said computing a score depends on at least one operation from among a group consisting of: calculating a surface area occupied by each display zone, calculating a number of display zones at least partially superimposed on each display zone, and calculating a ratio between at least a first and second dimension of each display zone. 
     
     
       6. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the recorded pixel values form a digital image, the method further comprising analyzing recorded digital images to determine the digital images belonging to the main video stream and the digital images belonging to an additional video stream. 
     
     
       7. A device for processing multimedia streams, in particular for verifying access rights to a content of a multimedia stream, the processing device comprising:
 a central processing unit; and 
 a data storage unit, 
 
       the processing device comprising or being connected to a display screen, the multimedia stream being provided by a server device connected to a communication network, and downloadable by the processing device via data formatted in a markup language, while using software for browsing and displaying data formatted in a markup language, cooperating with software for reading multimedia streams, the multimedia stream comprising at least two video streams comprising a main video stream and at least one additional video stream, each video stream having an associated display zone of said display screen; and
 a module operable for:
 determining, for each video stream extracted from the multimedia stream, the associated display zone, allocated by the browsing and display software to the software for reading multimedia streams; 
 
 identifying a main display zone, among the determined display zones, as being the display zone associated with the main video stream, comprising:
 computing a score associated with each determined display zone; and 
 selecting, as the main display zone, the display zone whose associated score is the highest score or the lowest score; and 
 recording at least one digital image formed by values of pixels to be displayed in the display zone determined at a given time. 
 
 
     
     
       8. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions, which, when executed by a processor of an electronic device, cause the processor to implement a method for processing a multimedia stream according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
       9. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said recording is performed at a predetermined temporal frequency, making it to possible to record a plurality of digital images of the video stream. 
     
     
       10. The method according to  claim 4 , wherein, when the display mode is a first display mode, the method further comprises intercepting a command to update a display zone, and wherein said recording is performed after said interception.